Seeing Red
by ZiggyGurl
Summary: Started out as a character sketch of Darry, who I've never explored as a character. It sort of changed after the first few paragraphs. So now it takes place the night Soda announces he's dropping out. You can imagine Darry isn't very happy.


Darrel Curtis was having a rough day. He'd tried his hand at carrying two bundles of roofing up to the top of the ladder once again, and once again he had a pulled muscle in his back to show for it. As he settled his arms against the steering wheel of the beat up Ford he winced a bit at stretching that muscle. He knew he'd have to go home and listen to Soda's good-natured whining as he got a much needed back rub. He hoped dully that maybe one of his younger brothers had started supper, but then took it back. Soda's cooking could get pretty crazy, and he wasn't really in the mood for green eggs and ham. There were hardly any cars on the road, which was unusual for a late Friday evening. The summer was almost over, and you could practically feel a change in the air as he drove past the school. The parking lot was filled with cars belonging to the teachers. Yes, school was around the corner.

Darry kind of missed school, he'd had fun there in four years, playing football and going on ski trips. He didn't get to do much skiing now that he had to do two jobs just to keep food on the table and bills paid. Soda's summer job at the DX helped, but minimum wage wasn't providing too many big vacations. He rarely even let his mind float as far as college, it hurt too much to think of what he was missing out on. Darry prided himself on his muscles, sure, but he could use his head as well. At that point he was finally arriving at the house, and pulling up in front. He put the old Ford into park and climbed down slowly, trying not to over exert that pulled muscle. He could hear loud music from inside the house and figured Soda and Steve were probably home from work. When he opened the door he found himself assaulted by the smell of chicken baking, and his stomach made an audible growl. He spotted Ponyboy reading on the couch, intensely concentrating to the point of not even noticing Darry as he walked in. It was difficult not to notice Darry, but he'd gotten used to Ponyboy always having his nose in books...almost. He realized what that meant about the food then too, 'Soda's in the kitchen', he thought with a sigh as he threw his button up shirt onto the couch. Ponyboy didn't even look up.

Darry travelled into the kitchen to see how much of a mess was spread around. He found what he'd figured he would, bowls and plates and pans and pots and forks and knives, scattered all over the kitchen table, the floor, and the counters. He shook his head in amusement, and Soda turned around. "Hey Darry! I've got chicken baking! Steve's gonna stay for supper," then seeing the look on Darry's face, "Oh, I didn't try anything different this time. Steve's a picky eater." He rolled his eyes at Steve like being a picky eater was Steve's tragic flaw or something. Darry grinned at his 'little buddy' and entered the kitchen, opening the oven to look at the chicken, Soda was telling the truth, nothing seemed weird about it. Darry sighed with relief, and practically fell into the kitchen chair with exhaustion. Soda grinned and made his way over to his big brother, patting him on top of the head. "Rough day?" he asked, with another grin. Darry nodded and rolled his eyes.

Ponyboy picked that moment to walk into the kitchen, still holding his book, he walked to the ice box and opened it without giving the first glance toward his brothers and Steve. Darry cleared his throat loudly, no reaction. Soda took this as a sign that a tackle would be welcome, and he knocked the unsuspecting Ponyboy onto the floor with the scattered plates and bowls. Ponyboy gave a yelp of surprise as he collapsed. Darry found himself smiling in spite of himself, he really did have a hard day. As Ponyboy and Sodapop fought to their feet the oven made a 'bing' sound that signified the chicken was ready. Darry didn't move, instead he leaned his elbows against the table and put his head in his hands. He knew Soda was moving to get it by the clank of metal pots and pans, Soda preferred to kick things out of his way than spend his time actually picking things up.

--

When dinner was served Darry was grateful, he wolfed down a large amount of chicken in what must have been record time. Steve, Pony and Soda stared at him in shock. It was a good thing they'd made two chickens, or there would have never been enough for the four of them. Everyone relaxed in their chairs, stomaches thrust out and belts loosened.

"Good job on dinner Pepsi Cola," Darry was standing up, on his way to take a hot shower and go to bed.

"Could you, uh, wait a second Darry? I have something I wanna talk to you about," Soda said. You could cut the sudden tension with a knife.

"Ok..." Darry said uncertainly, settling back into his chair.

"I know it's hard to keep money around, even with me working at the DX, and I know we'll barely be able to keep the bills paid when I go back to school, so I've decided..." before Soda could get the sentence out of his mouth Darry realized what he was going to say.

"We'll get by Soda, don't worry about it," he muttered. Soda shook his head.

"No, Darry, let me finish," Soda interrupted. Pony's eyes visibly widened. "I'm dumb, and I'm only passing auto mechanics and gym, and we need the money, so I'm just not going back this year."

The silence around the table was profound, Darry noted that Ponyboy seemed to be holding his breath. "Stop holding your breath Pony, you'll pass out," Darry gruffly warned. Pony let out air with a big 'whoosh!' Everyone stared. "You're going back to school, and that's all there is to it," Darry got up from the table again, moving towards the hallway.

"No...I'm not..." Soda whispered, eyes focused on his hands. Darry grabbed the nearest object, a frying pan and threw it in Soda's general direction. Lucky for Soda Darry was so angry that his aim was off. The frying pan made a connection with the clock on the wall behind him, shattering it into a million pieces. Now everyone was holding their breath. Soda's eyes seemed to be filling with tears, and so did Pony's. "I'm not going back," he whispered again, avoiding Darry's gaze. Darry angrily walked into the hallway without a second glance towards his brothers and Steve. Steve cleared his throat loudly and stood up.

"I better go home before the old man gets angry," Steve said, looking at the clock, and moving slowly towards the door. Nobody answered him and he backed out soundlessly. That left only Pony and Soda at the table, avoiding each others gazes.

"No brother of mine is going to quit school!" they heard Darry yelling from the bathroom. Soda and Pony finally met each other's eyes.

"He'll get over it," Soda promised, and Ponyboy gulped. "At least I hope so."


End file.
